Current Media celebrates 4th birthday as the fastest growing channel in the UK

Current Media, the award-winning television channel and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, marks its 4th anniversary this week in the UK, with four new commissions and record ratings with an average audience that has tripled in size in the last twelve months*.

Commenting on the anniversary, James DuBern, Senior Vice President of Programming for Current, said: “In the last four years we have continuously invested in Britain’s most exciting and emerging talents to bring hard-hitting stories and real- life documentaries to the forefront. We are proud to have commissioned over 250 factual programmes from over 250 individuals and small indies since our launch.”

Commissioning highlights from the last year include; The On Series, a celebrity- fronted investigative documentary with Gail Porter on prostitution and Howard Marks on the decriminalisation of drugs, Bride Trafficking Unveiled which sold in six territories, and the exclusive broadcast of Grierson 2010: The British Documentary Awards, formerly covered by the BBC.

The four new commissions for the coming quarter are:

Man Versus Earth - a documentary presented and produced by Sam Branson. The documentary is A Zig Zag production in association with Sam’s own production company, Current Sponge. The documentary presents Sam’s investigation of man’s battle against the seemingly ever-increasing threat of natural disasters. (1×60)

Doctors without Borders – an observational documentary series charting four months with the charity Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) in Democratic Republic of Congo. The series follows the lives of ex-pat doctors in one of the world’s poorest and most dangerous countries and provides a rare and intimate look at the people and its dramatic landscape. 2 x 60’ in-house Current TV production, executive producer Lina Prestwood, series producer and director Anuar Arroyo.

Death Row Diaries – journalist and lawyer, Laura Barry spends the final week of a death row inmate’s life with them, their families and those of theirvictims in a new series aiming to get under the skin of the capital punishment debate. 1 x 60’ broadcast pilot. Producer: James Bluemel/ Moving Target Films.

What Did I Do Last Night? - Following on from the success of last year’s series with Current’s UK and US audiences, Bright Hand Pictures have been re-commissioned to produce a second series of the factual entertainment format which focuses on the drinking habits of seemingly “normal” drinkers by piecing together the forgotten hours on a night out, the morning after the night before. The new series will be filmed in the UK and the US with rising comedic star, Jeff Leach, retaining the presenting role in both countries. (6 x 30’)